Founded in 1915,
/ref> the Los Angeles Area Council (LAAC) (#033) served most of the

City of Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

as well as several other cities in the greater Los Angeles area. It was one of five

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

councils in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Since its founding in 1915, the Los Angeles Area Council has brought its purpose and values to millions of youth. The Council served 54,567 youth in the Greater Los Angeles Area in 2008 alone.

Greater Los Angeles Area Council Greater Los Angeles Area Council (GLAAC) is a Boy Scouts of America Council created from the merger of the Los Angeles Area Council and the San Gabriel Valley Council. The vote to merge was held on March 21, 2015. The new name for the Council, G ...

(GLAAC) is a new

Council made from the merger of the Los Angeles Area Council and the San Gabriel Valley Council. The vote to merge was held on March 21, 2015. The new name for the Council, Greater Los Angeles Area Council, was announced on June 11, 2015. The new Council will continue with Scouting Service centers in Los Angeles and Pasadena. GLAAC has three Scout shops in Los Angeles, San Pedro and Pasadena. GLAAC operates eight BSA Camps in the greater Los Angeles area. Due to the large size of the two original councils, the merger is a process that will be completed over a time span.

History

The Los Angeles Area Council was founded in 1915 as the Centinela Council, changing its name in 1925 to the Los Angeles Council. In 1934 the San Antonio District (#046), founded in 1922; and the South Pasadena Council (#067), founded in 1927 merged into the LAC, with the name of the organization changing to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Council. The council name changed to LAAC in 1945. The LAAC was one of the first councils organized in the United States and is one of the largest councils still in existence. Cubmaster Don Murphy organized the first pinewood derby, which was raced on May 15, 1953 in

Manhattan Beach, California Manhattan Beach is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast south of El Segundo, California, El Segundo, west of Hawthorne, California, Hawthorne and Redondo Beach, California, Red ...

, by Pack 280C.

Organization

The following are the former districts and the communities they served:Boy Scouts of America, Los Angeles Area Council
/ref> *''Frontier District'' - served the communities of Maywood, South Gate, Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos,

Compton Compton may refer to: Places Canada * Compton (electoral district), a former Quebec federal electoral district * Compton (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district now part of Mégantic-Compton * Compton, Que ...

Downey Downey may refer to: People *Downey (surname) *Robert Downey Jr. Places *Downey, California, US *Downey, Idaho, US *Downey, Iowa, US Businesses *W. & D. Downey, photographic studio *Downey Studios, created out of a former Boeing plant Schools * ...

Hawaiian Gardens Hawaiian Gardens is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the smallest city in the county in area (approximately 1.0 mi2) and was incorporated on April 9, 1964. The population was 14,254 at the 2010 census, down fro ...

La Mirada La Mirada (Spanish for "The Look") is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California United States, and is one of the Gateway Cities. The population was 48,527 at the 2010 census, up from 46,783 at the 2000 census. The La Mirada Theatre for ...

, Lynwood, Norwalk and

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

*''North Star District'' - served the Los Angeles communities of

downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

Angelino Heights Angelino Heights, alternately spelled Angeleno Heights, is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Situated between neighboring Chinatown and Echo Park, the neighborhood is known for its concentration of eclectic architectural styles from ...

Atwater Village Atwater Village is a neighborhood in the 13th district of Los Angeles, California. Much of Atwater Village lies in the fertile Los Angeles River flood plain. Located in the northeast region of the city, Atwater borders Griffith Park and Silver L ...

Chavez Ravine Chavez Ravine is a shallow L-shaped canyon in Los Angeles, California. It sits in a large promontory of hills north of downtown Los Angeles, next to Major League Baseball's Dodger Stadium. Chavez Ravine was named for Julian A. Chavez, Julian Cha ...

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

Echo Park Echo Park is a neighborhood in the east-central region of Los Angeles, California. Located to the northwest of Downtown, it is bordered by Silver Lake to the west and Chinatown to the east. The culturally diverse neighborhood has become known fo ...

, Filipinotown,

Griffith Park Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the Ameri ...

Hancock Park Hancock Park is a city park in the Miracle Mile section of the Mid-Wilshire neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. The park's destinations include the La Brea Tar Pits; the adjacent George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries, which display ...

Harvard Heights Harvard Heights is a densely populated, mixed-income neighborhood of 20,000+ people in Central Los Angeles, California. Within it lies a municipally designated historic overlay zone designed to protect its architecturally significant single-fa ...

, Highland Park,

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

Koreatown A Koreatown (Korean: 코리아타운), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula. History Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave have ...

, Little Tokyo,

Los Feliz LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...

Larchmont Village Larchmont is a half-square-mile neighborhood in the central region of the City of Los Angeles, California. It has three schools and one small park. It has been the site of early and recent motion picture shoots. Geography According to the Great ...

Mount Washington Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934, ...

Silver Lake Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

, Thai Town, Toy District, Virgil Village; and South Pasadena. *''Pacifica District'' - served the communities of

Carson Carson may refer to: People *Carson (surname), people with the surname *Carson (given name), people with the given name Places ;In the United States * Carson, California, a city * Carson Township, Fayette County, Illinois *Carson, Iowa, a city * ...

, El Segundo, Gardena,

Harbor City Harbor City is a highly diverse neighborhood in the Harbor region of Los Angeles, California, with a population upward of 36,000 people. Originally part of the Rancho San Pedro Spanish land grant, the Harbor City was brought into Los Angeles as ...

Hermosa Beach Hermosa Beach (''Hermosa'', Spanish for "Beautiful") is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California, United States. Its population was 19,728 at the 2020 U.S. Census. The city is located in the South Bay region of th ...

Lomita Lomita (Spanish for "Little hill") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 20,921 at the 2020 census, up from 20,256 at the 2010 census. History The Spanish Empire had expanded into this area when the ...

, Manhattan Beach,

Palos Verdes Estates Palos Verdes Estates (''Palos Verdes'', Spanish for "Green Sticks") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The city was master-planned by the noted American landscape architect and ...

Rancho Palos Verdes Rancho Palos Verdes (Spanish for "Green Sticks Ranch") is a coastal city located in Los Angeles County, California atop the bluffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, neighboring other cities in the Palos Verdes Hills, including Palos Verdes Estate ...

, Redondo Beach,

Rolling Hills Estates Rolling Hills Estates is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. On the northern side of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, facing Torrance, Rolling Hills Estates is mostly residential. Incorporated in 1957, Rolling Hills Estates has ...

, San Pedro, Torrance and Wilmington *''Pioneer District'' (existed in 1958) - served the communities of nknown*''Rio Hondo District'' - served the communities of Montebello,

Pico Rivera Pico Rivera is a city located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California. The city is situated approximately southeast of downtown Los Angeles, on the eastern edge of the Los Angeles basin, and on the southern edge of the area known as the ...

Santa Fe Springs Santa Fe Springs (''Santa Fe'', Spanish for "Holy Faith") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. The population was 16,223 at the 2010 census, down from 17,43 ...

and Whittier *''Thunderbird District'' - served the Los Angeles neighborhoods of

Firestone Park Firestone may refer to: *Flint or firestone *Firestone (surname) Places *Firestone District, Margibi County, Liberia *Firestone (Phoenix, Arizona), a listing on the National Register of Historic Places in Phoenix, Arizona, US *Firestone, Colorado ...

Baldwin Hills Baldwin Hills may refer to: Places * Baldwin Hills (mountain range), Los Angeles County, California, U.S. * Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in South Los Angeles, California, U.S. * Baldwin Village, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in South Lo ...

, Central and King,

Boyle Heights Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include: Disambiguation *Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...

and

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

; the South Los Angeles neighborhoods of

Watts Watts is plural for ''watt'', the unit of power. Watts may also refer to: People *Watts (surname), list of people with the surname Watts Fictional characters *Watts, main character in the film '' Some Kind of Wonderful'' *Watts family, six chara ...

Leimert Park Leimert Park (; ) is a neighborhood in the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California. Developed in the 1920s as a mainly residential community, it features Spanish Colonial Revival homes and tree-lined streets. The Life Magazine/Lei ...

(near Koreatown), August F. Haw,

Westchester Westchester most commonly refers to Westchester County, New York, immediately north of New York City. __NOTOC__ It may also refer to: Geography Canada *Westchester Station, Nova Scotia, Canada United States *Town of Westchester, the original seat ...

, Exposition Park,

Crenshaw District Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw is a neighborhood in the south region of the city of Los Angeles. It is divided between the upscale, principally home-owning Baldwin Hills residential district to the south and a more concentrated apartment area to the ...

, Windsor Hills) and the communities of Lawndale,

Hawthorne Hawthorne often refers to the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne may also refer to: Places Australia *Hawthorne, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane Canada * Hawthorne Village, Ontario, a suburb of Milton, Ontario United States * Hawt ...

and Inglewood

Camps

*Cabrillo Beach Youth Waterfront Sports Center :In 1946, the LAAC leased the Cabrillo Camp property. It is located at the base of the cliffs directly below

Fort MacArthur Fort MacArthur is a former United States Army installation in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California (now the port community of Los Angeles). A small section remains in military use by the United States Air Force as a housing and administrative annex ...

. The camp was open to both Scouts and other youth groups. The camp utilized the old military

Quonset hut A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel having a semi cylindrical cross-section. The design was developed in the United States, based on the Nissen hut introduced by the British during World War I ...

s and portable trailers. :In the late 70s, the

Port of Los Angeles The Port of Los Angeles is a seaport managed by the Los Angeles Harbor Department, a unit of the City of Los Angeles. It occupies of land and water with of waterfront and adjoins the separate Port of Long Beach. Promoted as "America's Port", t ...

granted the Scouts a long-term lease. :With money donated by

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

in 1987, the ''Spielberg Center'' opened a swimming pool, campgrounds, dining area, craft center, Scout Shop, staff quarters, boat house and amphitheater. The facility is and the building is of Spanish and Mediterranean architecture.Cabrillo Youth Camp Home Page
/ref> *Firestone Scout Reservation, (elev. 500 ft) is a semi-primitive camp located just east of State Route 57 in Tonner Canyon between

Diamond Bar Diamond Bar is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2010 census it had a population of 55,544, and in 2019 the population was estimated to be 55,720. It is named after the "diamond over a bar" branding iron re ...

and

Brea, California Brea (; Spanish for "tar") is a city in northern Orange County, California. The population as of the 2010 census was 39,282. It is southeast of Los Angeles. Brea is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The city began as a center of cru ...

. The facilities are available to most non-profit youth groups in addition to Scouting organizations. *Hubert Eaton Scout Reservation (elev. 5,300 ft) (renamed from ''Forest Lawn Scout Reservation'' in 2017http://flsrastronomycenter.weebly.com/uploads/1/7/8/2/17829663/scouters_news_summer_08.pdf and originally known as the ''Lake Arrowhead Boy Scout Camps'') HESR is a group of Boy Scout and Cub Scout Resident Summer Camps located east of

Lake Arrowhead, California Lake Arrowhead is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) in the San Bernardino Mountains of San Bernardino County, California, surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest, and surrounding the eponymous Lake Arrowhead ...

on more than in the

San Bernardino National Forest The San Bernardino National Forest is a United States National Forest in Southern California encompassing of which are federal. The forest is made up of two main divisions, the eastern portion of the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernard ...

. **Circle X Ranch at Big Horn is a Boy Scout Resident Summer Camp, opened in 1950 as Camp Big Horn. **Camp Pepperdine was a Cub Scout Resident Summer Camp for the 2007 and 2008 seasons; it was formerly a primitive camping facility that opened in 1960. **Camp Pitchess, (''Now Closed'') formerly Camp Cedar, opened in 1953 as a Cub Scout Resident Summer Camp; it burned in the Waterman Canyon Wildfire, October 2003. **Camp Pollock — adjacent to what was once Camp Pitchess, is a year-round training center with an indoor climbing wall and cabins. It opened for the 2009 season as the Cub Scout Resident Summer Camp. **John Wayne Outpost is a wilderness camping area that opened in 1979. **Northrop Family Camp opened in 1955 is now a staff housing area and used for select program activities. * Log Cabin Wilderness Camp (elev. 9,640 ft) is a high adventure base camp located in the

Inyo National Forest Inyo National Forest is a United States National Forest covering parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. The forest hosts several superlatives, including Mount Whitney, the highest poi ...

. The camp is near the

Tioga Pass Road State Route 120 (SR 120) is a state highway in the central part of California, connecting the San Joaquin Valley with the Sierra Nevada, Yosemite National Park, and the Mono Lake area. Its western terminus is at Interstate 5 in Lathrop, and its ...

on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada bordering the

Hoover Wilderness The Hoover Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Inyo and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests. It lies to the east of the crest of the central Sierra Nevada in California, to the north and east of Yosemite National Park - a long strip stretchin ...

and

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

. *

Camp Circle X Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

- ''Closed'' located in the

Triunfo Pass The Triunfo Pass is a mountain pass in the Santa Monica Mountains, located on Yerba Buena Road in southeastern Ventura County, Southern California. Automobile access to Circle X Ranch Park, part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation ...

(now part of the Santa Monica Mountains NRA, (operated by the

NPS NPS may refer to: Organizations * National Park Service, U.S. * National Pension System, India * National Pension Service, Korea * National Phobics Society, UK charity * National Piers Society, UK charity * National Poetry Slam, competition * ...

))

Log Cabin Wilderness Camp

Log Cabin Wilderness Camp is a Boy Scout camp operated by the Los Angeles Area Council and is located in the

. "Log Cabin" is a

high adventure ''High Adventure'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins, released in September 1982. It is best known for its top 40 pop singles " Heart to Heart", " Heartlight" and " Don't Fight It"; the latter was co-written ...

camp. The camp is near the

on the eastern slopes of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

bordering the

and

. It is the highest Boy Scout camp in the country, at approximately 9,800 feet (3,000 m) above sea level. It was originally the site of the Log Cabin Gold Mine, which operated in the early 20th century. The mine was donated to Council in 1971. Programs offered at Log Cabin include High Country Gateway backpacking, Sierra Nevada Mountain Man, Peak Bagging, ranger training and

COPE The cope (known in Latin as ''pluviale'' 'rain coat' or ''cappa'' 'cape') is a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colours, litu ...

National Youth Leader Training

The council offers

National Youth Leadership Training National Youth Leadership Training, often called NYLT, is the current youth leadership development training offered by the Boy Scouts of America. The program is conducted at the council level over six days for Scouts, Venturers, and Sea Scouts. ...

. Formerly known as Brownsea 22 Junior Leader Training, NYLT is an intense six-day outdoor experience for Boy Scout Troop youth leaders ages 13–17.. The Los Angeles Area Council holds an NYLT encampment each August on the Forest Lawn Scout Reservation.

Order of the Arrow

The

Order of the Arrow The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the honor society of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), composed of Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers. The society was created by E. Urner G ...

(OA) is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America. The OA provides leadership and service experience to OA Scouts. Siwinis Lodge was the local lodge of the

. Siwinis Lodge was founded in December 1943 a BSA charter was granted in April 1944 as Lodge #252. The name Siwinis, means "Big Pine". The name came from a summer camp song. On March 16, 2016 the Ta Tanka OA Lodge of the San Gabriel Valley Council and the Siwinis OA Lodge of the Los Angeles Area Council voted and agreed on a new Lodge name and totem for the new Lodge of the Greater Los Angeles Area Council. The new Lodge is Tuku'ut and the totem is the

Saber-Toothed Cat Machairodontinae is an extinct subfamily of carnivoran mammals of the family Felidae (true cats). They were found in Asia, Africa, North America, South America, and Europe from the Miocene to the Pleistocene, living from about 16 million until ...

.GLAAC Order of the Arrow
/ref>

References

{{Authority control Defunct local councils of the Boy Scouts of America Organizations based in Los Angeles Youth organizations based in California Western Region (Boy Scouts of America)